The results, shared during a Wednesday conference call, show what Democrats already know about Latino voters: Their interests tend to fall in line more with Democratic values than Republican ones, said state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio.

"We believe in both a healthy human and resource structure," he said during the call he co-hosted with state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, and pollster Julie Martinez Ortega.

But Davis, who in 2012 won a seat in a traditionally strong Republican district that now is 53 percent non-Anglo, said political messaging and strategy geared toward a growing Latino base is no substitute for getting to the point.

"The biggest problem," Davis said, "is we're just not asking (Latinos) for their vote."

She said state and national candidates tend to overlook districts like hers, where demographic shifts quite often go unnoticed in light of historic voting trends and redistricting maps that tend to further polarize the political picture.

"We have no statewide or national candidates who campaign in our county — it's taken for granted it is (Republican) and will be purely (Republican)," she said. "But, you can't expect that those values, in those areas, truly reflect the voters."

Latino voters, now the fastest growing base in Texas which itself is inching its way toward a presidential battleground state, are worried along with everyone else how to address water resources, energy resources and transportation infrastructure and how to do it without economically crippling future generations.

Had Democrats energized their existing Latino voter base and reached out to those not yet registered, Martinez Ortega said, 2012 would have been quite a different story.

She said more than 2.5 million vote-eligible Latinos are not registered. Another million are registered but did not vote in 2012.

Those surveyed were diverse in responding to why they have not voted in past elections. The most common response, from 24 percent of those surveyed, was that they did not like the candidates.

Another 21 percent said they did not have time. Eighteen percent said they were not registered.

In a state where Republicans carry about a million vote edge in statewide elections, Latinos make all the difference, Martinez Fischer said.

Republicans also are working to capture more Latino voters with a statewide "Keep Texas Red" campaign that aims at convincing Hispanic voters that the GOP is the party that most closely resembles their values.

Martinez Fischer said Democrats must focus on the dormant Latino base that is adding another 145,000 eligible voters, every year.

"Engage and enrage," he said.

Nueces County Democratic Party Chairman Joseph Ramirez said Wednesday the poll validates the formula local Democrats used last year in Abel Herrero's campaign to reclaim his House District 34 seat from Republican Connie Scott.

"We focused on reconnecting with our base," Ramirez said. "We cannot always match Republicans in advertising dollars, but what we can and did do was take our message to the streets, the neighborhoods, that we are the party of Latino values."

He said stereotypes must also give way to a new mind-set when reaching out to young, Latino voters.

"The stereotype is that Hispanics are immigrant field hands," Ramirez said. "But we are educated, we are small business owners and professionals."

The Democratic Party also may have an edge on such hot-button topics as religion, abortion and same-sex marriage, according to the survey, which showed 58 percent of respondents chose the Democratic Party over the Republican Party as best representing their views.

Martinez Fischer said Republican candidates, even those with Texas ties as deep as George P. Bush, a Republican candidate for Texas land commissioner, will continue to struggle explaining to Latino voters why they choose a party that historically has supported what many consider to be anti-immigrant and anti-education policies.

Those that cannot probably will not thrive as Texas continues its trek toward a Hispanic majority.

"What it means is, folks are going to have to start working on their ‘habla,'" he joked.

Almost half of those surveyed said they disapproved of the job being done by Gov. Rick Perry and are aware that the gubernatorial election is next year.